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With their announcement on December 8, 1997 of their proposed merger, the CEOs of Union Bank of Switzerland and Swiss Bank Corporation must prepare a plan of integration of the two firms. This case presents the press release of the announcement and relates the reaction of investors and journalists. The case also presents a framework for setting the strategy of post-merger integration and summarizes the integration task before the executives. The tasks for the students include: 1. Assess the public communication of this deal. The public announcement launches the integration effort and sets a tone that can help or hinder the subsequent combination. 2. Survey the integration planning process. The executives of the two firms were committed to having a detailed integration plan in place before the consummation of the deal- this is consistent with current thinking about the desirability of avoiding a slow integration. Thus, the case is an illustration of the kinds of issues that must be resolved quickly. 3. Describe and evaluate the integration strategy of the new firm. The case surveys the process of integration planning between the announcement and consummation dates of the merger and outlines the approaches in the various business units. The student must consider the influence of various strategic issues including the balance of autonomy versus absorption, relatedness, and control versus consultation (these are described in the case).